Nathaniel's Nutmeg: How One Man's Courage Changed the Course of History

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Giles Milton

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Pages: 400 (Paperback)

ISBN: 0340696761

Pub: Sceptre

Pub date: 2000-03-16

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 29226

Editorial Review:

Consider the humble jar of nutmeg pushed to the back of your kitchen cupboard, among all the other spices that you hardly ever use. Would you believe that nutmeg formed the basis for one of the most bitter international conflicts of the 17th century, and was also intimately connected to the rise to global pre-eminence of New York City? Strange but true; nutmeg was one of the most prized commodities in Renaissance Europe, and its fascinating story is told in Giles Milton's delightful book Nathaniel's Nutmeg.
The book deals with the competition between England and Holland for possession of the spice- producing islands of South-East Asia throughout the 17th century. Packed with stories of heroism, ambition, ruthlessness, treachery, murder, torture and madness, Nathaniel's Nutmeg offers a compelling story of European rivalry in the Tropics, thousands of miles from home, and the mutual incomprehensibility which often comically characterised relations between the Europeans and the local inhabitants of the prized islands.
At the centre of the story lies Nathaniel Courthope, a trusty lieutenant of the East India Company, who took and held the tiny nutmeg-producing island of Run in the face of overwhelming Dutch opposition for more than five years, before being treacherously murdered in 1620. Courthope's heroism led to the English taking the Dutch colony of Manhattan in revenge for the death of Courthope and the loss of Run. The subsequent peace deal between the two nations gave Holland Run and the British Manhattan; New York was born. As Milton wittily remarks, although Courthope's death "robbed England of her nutmeg, it gave her the biggest of apples".

Inevitably inviting comparisons with Dava Sobel's Longitude, Nathaniel's Nutmeg is a charming story, which throws light on a spicy, neglected slice of early Europe's fascination with the East. --Jerry Brotton

Reader Reviews:

What more do you want? (0/0 people found this helpful)

This was the first book of his that I read and was absorbed immediately.
I am a teacher of History and it is always great to feel like you have also re-discovered a great secret of the past. It is told with a mixture of the Historian and the story teller which never lets you go.
In a world that has forgotten heroes who actually do something in favour of those who are famous for doing nothing and being nothing, it makes a refreshing change to hear about Nathaniel and his precious nutmeg.
Read it and feel all the better for it.

A consolidated history of the spice trade (0/0 people found this helpful)

Giles Milton has consolidated the history of the spice trade into a readable but detailed account of the Dutch and English trading companies. According to Milton, the plague as well as gastronomy created such a demand for nutmeg and other spices that the return on investment exceeded almost any other commodity. Milton explains how the companies were put together with the permission of the crowns but maintaining by common individuals willing to gamble their very lives. Preserving trade in the islands while England and the Netherlands engaged in war after war in Europe, on the ocean and on the islands, is the majority of the drama Milton describes. Nathaniel receives the title of the book I believe not because of his importance in the spice trade but because he was the most courageous and tragic character in a story filled with bold but cursed adventurers. Milton does not avoid the unpleasantness the traders inflicted on the natives of the islands or each other. Neither does he paint the traders as demons. Thankfully this book is not an academic criticism of this period in history. Milton avoids being boring and self righteous by writing a story about incredible people facing extraordinary challenges, not an academic deconstruction of social forces. This may offend people who look for things to offend them. Overall, I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in a full but fluid history of the spice trade and naval exploration.

A difficult read (4/11 people found this helpful)

As a keen reader of historical fiction, I fear it's not that easy to make the cross-over into non-fiction historical literature and I'll admit that I did find this book a bit of a struggle. In fact it took me two months to read! It was an interesting subject, but a bit too detailed to keep my attention.

The narrative covers a period of about 150yrs, spanning the 1500's until 1667. At this time the Spice Islands were the only source of nutmeg, mace and cinnamon, and represented the oportunity for huge financial gain - or loss.

I felt that Nathaniel Courthorpe lending his name to the title was stretching it a bit. Other than a brief mention at the begining, he doesn't appear until about 2/3 through the book; he fights heroically against losing odds but sadly doesn't survive to tell his own story.

The book also paints a pretty poor picture of the Dutch, who would stoop to any lengths to gain control of the spice trade. In contrast the British appear quite virtuous, treating the natives with considerably more respect than their European neighbours.

I have a copy of Giles Milton's "White Gold", the history of the trade in white slaves. Sounds interesting.

A great adventure (2/4 people found this helpful)

This is one of the best books i have read in recent years. It is very well written and researched. If you like the sea and stories associated with the sea you will enjoy Nathaniel's Nutmeg. It is the stories of the spice islands and covers what is the start of the merchant navy. A good read worth every penny.

The King Of Popular History (3/9 people found this helpful)

Milton is, without a doubt, the singular most interesting historian to grace us. He brings epochs of history to life, and fills his works with fascinating facts, rather than the rambling quotes and superfluous details that generally fill the tomes of his peers.
In this way, I find his works inspirational, they bring history to life, and make the learning experience fun, because it is essentially a true adventure yarn. His research has been painstaking, and his devotion and passion are evident by every leaf one thumbs through. It feels like fiction, one almost cant believe the conditions and attrocities carried out for something we spinkle on our rice pudding. This, and the other spices, have the most unexpected and enthralling history, and told in Miltons inimitable style, one cant help but be swept up in the plight of his many protagonists.
I have written this review for Nathaniels Nutmeg as an overall review of the works of this author, because, at this juncture, it is the best so far, but 'Samurai William' and 'Big Chief Elizabeth' are awesome.
Its hard to put the brilliance into words. I really can't recommend these works, or this writer, enough. If history is your thing, and even if it isn't, this writer will sate all your cravings and make the rest look like turgid scholars, unable to inject any life into their own books. It has redefined the genre for me (though, beware his first novel, 'The Riddle Of The Knight'which is nothing like the rest, and not even in the same league as his later books).

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